June 20, 2013

Before Wednesday’s game, when his high and tight two-seamer would have started a riot in a Dodgers-Diamondbacks game, Alito had thrown out a first pitch twice: once at a spring training game between the Phillies and Tampa Bay, the other at a regular season game in Philadelphia.

How did those go?

“In Philly, I thought it was good. The fact that the Phillie Phanatic caught it without a glove was slightly insulting to the speed of it.”

ADDED: The lawprof in me wants to probe into the statement that "the Phillie Phanatic caught it without a glove." What is the meaning of "glove"?

Is that "hand" not also/inherently a "glove"? It's not as if there are nerve endings in the green material of the costume. The human hand is inside that "hand," which can be said to make it a "glove," especially in the context where the issue is whether the ball hit so softly that the hand would not be hurt. On the other... hand... perhaps all that matters is the symbolism, and the "hand" however well-padded symbolizes a hand and not a glove, so even without any potential for pain, even from a fast pitch, the lack of a symbolic catcher's mitt sent the message that the pitch was weak.

And now that I'm getting this technical, do you want to criticize Alito for using the word "glove" rather than "mitt"?

Sam Alito tosses a supreme fit on the court drives his Ranger and eats plates of game with his baseball glove he was high and tightwad and his truck is a two-seater started a riot with a Dodge squashed a diamondback rattlesnake.

Yep. The culture of death and the consumer mentality that we have coupled to it insist that there is no intrinsic value to human life; it is only valuable insofar as it is useful and enjoyable. Thus, if a baby is inconvenient, it can be killed, and if one's life becomes difficult, it can be ended. Joseph Card. Bernardin expressed it very concisely in saying that "When human life is considered 'cheap' or easily expendable in one area, eventually nothing is held as sacred and all lives are in jeopardy," but the real prophet here is, of all people, Rod Serling. The Obsolete Man, which first aired in 1961, is a powerful witness for life in an age that had not even yet realized that it cared about the question.

I'm not sure the definition should be around glove or mit. Rather, does Philly Phanatic refer to the fictional character or the real human inside the costume pretending to be the Phanatic? I suspect Alito was referencing the character.

I know pro-lifers can be exasperating. Justice Scalia writes about his exasperation in Casey. You get the feeling he really, really does not like January 22nd.

Here's a question. Why is Alito throwing out baseballs and acting like a politician running for office? Worried about the ol' Q rating? Trying to boost the Supreme Court's reputation?

P.R. flack: "You should kiss some babies. Voters love that."

Alito: "You're an idiot. I can't kiss any babies. I don't want them thinking about babies. I need some p.r. event that has nothing whatsoever to do with abortion so the damn thread can't be hijacked by those pro-lifers who won't leave us alone!"

the real prophet here is, of all people, Rod Serling. The Obsolete Man, which first aired in 1961, is a powerful witness for life in an age that had not even yet realized that it cared about the question.